


sighs & sunsets

by Miraphina Atherton (mew_tsubaki)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friendship, cute enough that this old thing has fans ngl lol, okay it's crack but it's cute??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:01:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29251878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mew_tsubaki/pseuds/Miraphina%20Atherton
Summary: Ever wonder where Hedwig flew to take a break from her master's shenanigans? Well, come find out…
Relationships: Hedwig (Harry Potter)/Whomping Willow
Kudos: 2





	sighs & sunsets

**Author's Note:**

> The Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me. Read, review, and enjoy!

They are back at this drafty castle for the third year in a row. More and more, Hedwig finds herself with less and less attention. It doesn't make sense. The red-haired one and the bushy-haired one only ever squawk about their pets, that filthy rat and that mangy cat.

Hedwig, meanwhile, spends most of her time sleeping in her cage, waiting for her master to retire to his room and give her attention. But he spends his time brooding, and, after some event, he spends his time watching nothing but a piece of parchment.

The lack of activity makes Hedwig sigh. Well, chirp grumpily. But that's what an owl's sigh sounds like.

She eventually decides that she's getting fat, doing nothing but sitting around all day, eating the treats left in the bottom of her cage. She begins to fly out, circling each parapet and diving below each archway. Day in and day out, the castle grows more familiar to her than ever before, and she finally gets bored.

Then she tries to land in that tree from last year, the one that beat up the red-haired one's family vehicle. Hedwig swoops down gracefully—and has to veer sharply to the right.

The tree swung back.

The tree swung back.

The _tree_ swung the _beak_ back!

Oh, in Quetzalcoatl's name! Hedwig makes a gesture akin to her master rolling his eyes and tries to land again. The tree flicks a thin branch at her again, so Hedwig screeches and flies off, landing instead in a tree on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. She stays there for hours until night falls and it's time to return to her master's room for sleep.

When Hedwig wakes the next day, she wonders if she's a typical owl. She's not exactly nocturnal, because she's adapted to her master's schedule. Hedwig sinks her head into her neck and peeks outside the window. She at least does everything else right as an owl, right?

Hedwig leaves through the window around lunchtime and goes scavenging in the forest. Hunting is fun and takes her mind off things—like how her master has been running around after dark and how that man has been taking up even more of her master's free time and how something smells off about that man and that rat and—

Hedwig caws angrily and tears a mouse to bits. She chirps like a huff and exits the forest. Sometimes she doesn't like it because it makes her feel feral. But she's a kept owl.

She heads for the castle, but a boldness encourages her, so she tries to approach that tree again. She heard her master call it the "Whomping Willow," whatever that means. Hedwig dubs the tree "Willow" and lands on the ground by Willow's base. Maybe approaching her in a more friendly way will get the tree to be nice to Hedwig.

No can do. The tree bends and swings again. So Hedwig flies home, offended for the second time in two days.

The owl gets annoyed and sits in her cage for three days and nights on end. She's saddened that her master doesn't even notice, so she takes to nipping his finger when he does try to give her a treat and scratch her head. She regrets it afterward, though, because she's missed him, and he's not the only one who shoulders the blame.

On a cool evening, Hedwig leaves her cage at last, attempting to be as brave as her master and try one last time to make a new friend.

The sun is setting, and Hedwig's eyes must adjust. She flies high to stay clear of objects, and, when the sun is down low enough that it's no longer a bother, Hedwig sees Willow come into her sight. Without hesitation, she glides down.

She manages to land on one of the top branches without a problem. Willow doesn't swipe at her, and Hedwig is careful not to clutch the branch too badly with her claws. Willow twists her branches so that Hedwig faces the red, darkening sun, and it's almost as though Willow watches the sunset together with her.

Hedwig's little owl heart beats in her chest, for she's never watched the sunset with someone before. Even Fawkes, handsome phoenix that he is, is not so…romantic. That's what the humans say, right? That's what her master would say, right?

Willow remains still until night finally arrives. Then she shakes, sending Hedwig loose, and Hedwig cannot land again for the rest of the evening.

But tomorrow, tomorrow will be different, for now Hedwig knows how to make things work…and she knows she wants them to.

**Author's Note:**

> o.o WUT. …I have no explanation for this. And yet…I think I ship it. O.o ARGH! MORGHEN! *blames her twin* Seriously. Just blame her for this piece of [possibly working?] crack. 2 notes: the "swung the beak back" was my attempt at owl swears. Blah. Also, Quetzalcoatl is an old Latin American deity whose name translates to "feathered serpent" or something similar… I'm a big mythology geek, and I've always been under the impression that Quetzalcoatl was something like a bird god, so here Hedwig "mentions" him because the wizards have "Oh, Merlin," so…yeah. I get creative with my blasphemies. -.- Lastly, this is set during PoA, so Hedwig is skeptical about both "Scabbers" and Remus. :]
> 
> Thanks for reading, and please review!
> 
> -mew-tsubaki :O
> 
> 2017 note: Yah. 4 yrs later, and I'm still amazed I wrote this. Not sure if it rly counts as a ship? XD But it's at least cute, you've gotta give me that. ;]


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